No Harm Done
by bionic4ever
Summary: FDNH3: Will Jaime's surgery be successful, or will she have to remain in her wheelchair?
1. Chapter 1

**No Harm Done**

Chapter One

Most doctors would've thrown him out of the room – probably out of the hospital – but Steve _in_the bed, holding Jaime in his arms, was exactly what Rudy had hoped to see. The next few weeks would be tough and challenging for her; Rudy was glad Steve would be there for encouragement and comfort.

"Any questions about the surgery tomorrow?" the doctor offered. "Jaime? Steve?"

"How long until Steve and I can...be together?" Jaime asked with a wicked smile.

"You're already together, Honey, and...oh." Rudy, fortunately wasn't easily embarrassed. "It'll be a long recovery – you know that. But your body'll let you know when you're ready."

"Oh, don't tell her that!" Steve admonished. "Unless you wanna lock the door on your way out..."

"Steve!" Jaime whacked him playfully on the arm. She turned to Rudy. "Gotcha, Doc. And...how long until I'm walking?"

They'd been over this part several times, but Jaime was probably hoping for a different answer, and Rudy (as always) was patient. "The first week, you won't be moving much at all; you'll be in a modern sort of traction, to allow your new hips to settle and the rest of your body to adjust and recover a bit. This is big-time major surgery, Honey."

"A whole week...ugh."

"After that, we'll play it by ear, but it'll be gradual, and probably not as rapid as you'd like – I know you're already restless -"

"That's an understatement," Steve agreed.

"It'll be a brand-new learning process for you," Rudy went on. "Your balance will be off at first – probably way off – because your center of gravity will change. It'll be almost like learning to walk all over again." He knew he didn't need to remind Jaime or Steve that there was also a remote possibility the operation would fail completely and Jaime would remain in her wheelchair. They were all well aware of that ugly fact, looming in the background.

"Rudy?" Jaime's voice sounded more tentative than before.

"Yes, Honey?"

"Will I...um...will I still be able to have kids someday?"

"Hopefully. Another bridge we'll have to cross when we get to it, but our goal is to cause as little disruption to the rest of your body as possible."

Jaime nodded and leaned a little closer to Steve, who could tell she was more nervous than she was letting on.

"I'm going to give you a shot now," Rudy told her, "so you can rest. The surgical team will be in to prep you first thing in the morning." He quickly administered the injection, smiled at the love radiating between the two people on the single bed, and headed for the door. "Call if you need anything at all."

"Thank you," Jaime answered, mustering a smile.

Steve turned a little, still holding her, so he could look into her eyes. "Thinking of having a baby, are you?" he challenged, grinning.

Jaime shrugged. "You never know..." They'd talked repeatedly about getting married, but so far, talk was as far as the subject had gone. "Maybe someday." Her eyelids were already beginning to grow heavier, and Steve kissed her softly before withdrawing from the bed and settling Jaime comfortably back onto the pillows.

"I love you..." Jaime whispered, drifting off to sleep.

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

- - - - - -

Even though he knew Jaime's surgery would take the better part of the day, Steve began pacing almost immediately. Jaime _would _walk again; she _**had **_to! He, of course, would love her just the same either way, but he knew if this surgery failed, Jaime's spirit (only recently revived after a brief period of rebellion and depression) would be crushed. He just wanted her healthy, alive and safe; the rest was icing on the cake.

The operation was especially touchy because both of her hips were being made bionic: not just the one damaged several months earlier in a shooting, which had put her in a wheelchair, but the healthy one as well. Replacing just the damaged one might have allowed her to walk, but to do more than that she'd need the equilibrium of the double replacement. It also entailed removal of healthy bone and tissue to replace it with bionics, which was something Rudy had never done before, but everyone's hopes were high that it would be successful – especially Jaime's.

Oscar joined him several hours into his vigil, bearing coffee and sandwiches. Steve gulped the coffee gratefully, but his stomach was too tense for anything more. "Maybe later," he told Oscar. "Thank you, though."

"She's in the best possible hands, Pal," Oscar reminded him.

"I know."

"Why don't you come and sit down?"

"I...can't. Maybe later."

Nine hours later, after Oscar had come and come a few more times to make his business calls and bring more coffee, Steve was still pacing. "Pal, you really need to sit down," Oscar told him. "Even if your legs can handle it, I'm getting worried about the floor." He was only half joking.

"Not right now. Later, maybe."

"Ok, but you're forcing my hand here." Oscar pulled himself up to his full height and found his most imposing 'I'm the Boss' voice. "_Colonel Austin! _In the chair – immediately!" Steve opened his mouth to protest but Oscar's face clearly showed he wasn't kidding. Once Steve had complied, Oscar Goldman disappeared, leaving Steve's friend in his place. "Feel better?" Oscar asked softly.

"Thanks. And Oscar, thank you for all the extra time off you've been giving me to be with Jaime."

"You're her best possible medicine; Rudy tells me you've been taking excellent care of our girl. Your assignment for the foreseeable future is to keep doing exactly that."

Steve nodded. "I will; thank you."

- - - - - -


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was almost midnight when Rudy, limp with exhaustion, emerged through the big double doors to calm the fears of the two anxious men waiting in the hallway. The operation, which had been estimated at ten to twelve hours, had taken nearly seventeen, and Steve was several hours past frantic.

"She's doing fine," Rudy said in a calm, reassuring voice. "There was a bit of a problem -"

"Problem?" Steve was instantly on his feet.

"We'd hoped to integrate the bionics about halfway up the healthy hip, but the synapses there wouldn't fuse correctly or accept the electrical impulses, so we had to take a little more than the original specs. Luckily, we were prepared; we had the extra hardware and supplies."

"But...Jaime's ok?"

"She's a real trooper – came through it all just fine. Already stable, no signs of shock. We're probably looking at a few extra days in traction but Jaime's already doing far better than we'd expected."

Steve exhaled a huge sigh of relief. "Rudy – thank you. When can I see her?"

"We're keeping her in the ICU overnight – just as a precaution. She'll be out until at least lunchtime tomorrow, so you could go home, get a good night's sleep and still be back in plenty of time to -" He saw Steve's raised eyebrow, and the doctor smiled. "And you're not going anywhere...are you?"

Steve grinned back. "Not a chance."

- - - - - -

Michael wasn't surprised to find Steve in the ICU the next morning, sitting beside Jaime's bed. He was, however, surprised to find him still awake.

"Have you slept at all?" he asked.

"Soon."

"Steve, you need to take care of yourself, too. When we move Jaime back to her regular room, I'd hate to see you take her place in the ICU."

Steve's eyes never left Jaime. She wore no casts – bionic replacement didn't require them – but her body was completely immobilized by an intricate set of pulleys, weights and slings. "We've got a big problem," Steve told the young doctor.

"What is it? Is she running a fever?" Michael moved to check.

"No, nothing like that. I guess I should say we're going to have a problem...when Jaime wakes up and finds out she can't move _at all._ I don't think she realized the full extent of it."

"She'll be in considerable pain for at least the first few days."

"Even so, I give her three days – tops – before she starts trying to tear her way outta that thing."

- - - - - -

Steve was wrong; only a day and a half later, when he briefly left the room, Jaime began trying to back her way out of the slings.

"You know, Sweetheart," Steve told her the second time he caught her at it, "you could be setting your progress back by doing that." Once she was obediently lying flat again, he kissed her, smiling to himself at her bravery – and stubbornness. "Besides, that's gotta hurt like hell."

"Well, I can't just lay here – I'll go nuts!"

"Want me to sing and dance for you?"

"Um...no thanks." Jaime giggled, and Steve could see the waves of pain it sent through her body.

"How 'bout if I just sit and hold your hand awhile, while you...oh, I don't know...try and _rest_?"

Jaime nodded, suddenly very tired. "Maybe," she said softly as she began to drift off, "I can negotiate with Rudy for an early release, for good behavior...?"

- - - - - -

"Alright, Young Lady," Rudy said as he released the last of the slings from its pulley and removed the set-up from Jaime's bed, "this does _**not **_give you license to hop out of bed and start doing calisthenics."

"I can dream...!" Jaime joked with a wicked grin.

"I'll keep an eye on her, Doc," Steve promised.

Rudy chuckled. "Make it both eyes." He laughed a little harder as Jaime crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue before settling back onto the pillow with a huge, playful pout. "It's a gradual process, Honey," the doctor reminded her. "Baby steps, and -"

"Steps?" Jaime's face brightened. "I can get up, then?"

"No – but you can start with small, easy movements - _from your bed – _and in another week or so -"

"_A week_!?! Rudy..."

"Like I said, baby steps. The lower half of your body has to get used to commands from an entirely re-vamped system of nerve synapses and electrical impulses. Once you master the easier stuff, then we'll work on getting you up and walking. Some extra sleep wouldn't hurt you, by the way."

Steve was eying Jaime very closely. Although he didn't say anything to Rudy, he could tell by the glint in her eyes that Jaime had other ideas.

"You should try and get some sleep, too," Jaime suggested once she and Steve were alone. Rudy had arranged for Steve to use the room across the hall – as a tenant, rather than a patient – so he could stay close to Jaime.

Steve shook his head knowingly. "I think maybe I'll just doze in the chair here for now."

"Steve Austin – you don't trust me?"

"Let's just say I know you pretty well. You're plotting something, and until I figure out what you're up to, the chair looks mighty comfy."

- - - - - -


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Steve glanced from Rudy to Jaime and back again, debating what (and how much) to say to the doctor as he checked Jaime over on the third morning after removal of the slings and traction. He smiled. "Gotta warn ya, Doc – our patient's a little cranky this morning."

Jaime's eyes grew wide with feigned innocence and a tiny bit of worry. Was he going to tell Rudy what he'd just seen?

"Is she now?" Rudy chuckled. "Wiggle your toes for me, Honey – good." He looked over at Steve. "Any special reason?"

Steve shrugged. "She might've got up on the wrong side of the bed," he answered, winking at Jaime. She was off the hook – for now.

"That so?" Rudy said thoughtfully. He hadn't missed the wink, but let them have their private joke, whatever it was. "Ok, Jaime, raise your right foot and rotate the ankle. Great. Now, the left. Good job."

"So when can I get up, Doc?" Jaime asked impatiently. Steve gave a slight cough but kept his mouth shut.

"I'd say by the end of the week; just a few more days. You're progressing at exactly the right pace – we don't want to push you too hard and have you backslide now." Rudy headed for the door, turning to Steve at the last moment. "If she gives you any trouble..."

Steve grinned. "She won't." He donned his best Southern twang, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat. "_I has loads of practice handlin' this here little lady_."

"Thank you," Jaime sighed when Rudy was gone.

"Next time I catch you out of that bed, it won't be so easy – this was your one freebie," he told her lightly, leaning over the bed for a kiss. "Rudy and Michael both told me you'd be unsteady at first, and I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be really careful," Jaime promised. At the sight of Steve's raised eyebrow, she added "At the end of the week, when they say it's ok."

- - - - - -

_Day three, _Jaime thought to herself, _I should really be a lot further along than just standing on my own two feet! _Steve had gone down to a conference room with Oscar and Jack Hansen to discuss Jason Havilland's upcoming trial, believing Jaime to be soundly in the middle of an afternoon nap. She felt a twinge of guilt at deceiving him, but her planned end result would be well worth it, if only she could pull it off...

_Ok, Jaime, up and at it! _Soon, she was standing next to her bed, and standing straight, not wobbling and swaying like she had the day before. She'd wanted to try taking her first steps that morning, but Steve had gotten up early and found her out of her bed. _Thank heavens he didn't come in a few minutes later, _Jaime reflected, _or I'd have really been busted. There's time right now, though – but what if I fall? No! Can't doubt myself, or this'll never happen. I have to believe I can do it. __**I can do it!**_Her teeth were gritted with determination and effort as she swung her right foot forward, then shifted her weight onto it and brought the left one up to meet it.

_Yes! Oh, damn! _That pesky balance issue sent her reeling, and Jaime grabbed the chair and eased into it, breathing hard but smiling just the same.

Steve returned from the pre-trial conference to find Jaime still sound asleep. Curiously, the chair that was usually next to the nightstand was next to the bed now, but he thought he might've slid it in that direction when he got out of it. Still, he had to wonder...

"Steve," Jaime said softly as her eyes fluttered open, "how was the conference?"

"Havilland's attorney wants to plead, and Havilland may be replacing him. In other words – boring. How was your nap?"

"Very restful. I slept like a log."

- - - - - -

A few days later, while Jaime was having her breakfast, Steve consulted with her doctors in Rudy's office. "She's been out of traction for a week today," he reminded them. "If we don't let her get up and moving again soon, we're gonna have a mutiny on our hands."

Rudy smiled knowingly. "She's already _been _up, Steve."

"She has?" Steve wondered if he sounded convincingly surprised.

"Yes, she has, and I'm pretty sure someone's been helping her -"

"Alright – you got me. I did see her out of bed – once, a couple of days ago – but I told her I'd turn her in if she tried it again. She's been behaving ever since; under protest, of course."

Rudy nodded. "I knew there was something. This afternoon, I thought we'd take her down to the gym and have her work on standing with the parallel bars for support."

"Oh, come on, you guys," a quiet voice said from the doorway. "The bars are boring!"

"You have to start small, Jaime," Steve said over his shoulder, before he realized that – yes – _Jaime was_ _standing in the doorway!_ "Jaime...?!?" He rushed to her side, to assist her, but Jaime appeared steady (albeit holding onto the door frame for support).

Michael's jaw dropped in surprise, but Rudy simply nodded and smiled. "I had a feeling...However you did it, you've obviously done a great job. Now, let's get you back to bed so we can talk about it. _All _of it."

- - - - - -


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Steve and the doctors helped Jaime get settled back into her bed. She had to admit – grudgingly – that the short walk down the hall had left her completely exhausted. All three men pulled chairs over to the bed, with Steve sitting closest, as a sort of buffer between Jaime and the people she was going to have to answer to.

"I figured you were getting out of bed," Rudy began gently, "because you weren't nearly as restless as we thought you'd be, but I had no idea you were actually walking."

"Neither did I," Steve asserted. "That morning I caught you standing up – was that the first time?"

Jaime merely blinked, debating what was safe to reveal and how much trouble she might be in. "It's ok, Honey," Rudy told her, seeming to read her thoughts. "We aren't angry with you. We need to know exactly where you are in terms of progress, and how you got there, so we know where to go from here."

Jaime sighed, and flashed a relieved smile at the doctors. "I got up the day after you took the slings away," she admitted. "Every time I got the chance, I tried to do a little more than the time before."

"What about the pain?" Michael wondered. "I know you were really hurting."

"Well, yeah, but I was gonna hurt whether I got up or not," she replied matter-of-factly. "And if I'd stayed flat on my back for a week, there'd have been nothing but the pain; I'd have ended up feeling that much worse. At least this way, there was something else I could focus on, so I didn't feel so scared or sorry for myself. I wasn't trying to be sneaky, exactly, but -"

"You knew we'd tell you 'no'," Rudy said, nodding. "And you'd have been right, Young Lady. You're very lucky you didn't hurt yourself." He saw that Jaime looked rather pale, and her eyelids seemed very heavy. "Why don't you rest awhile, and maybe after lunch you and Steve could take a walk around the grounds...a short walk."

"Ok," she agreed, grateful for the reprieve. "And I'll stay in bed this time; I promise."

- - - - - -

Jaime inhaled the fresh air in deep, happy sighs, holding onto Steve's arm as he found a soft patch of grass where they could sit and rest.

"Doesn't this feel better than sneaking around in the middle of the night?" he remarked, smiling broadly to show he wasn't angry and helping Jaime sit down before she could try to do it herself.

"It wasn't the middle of the night – it was...yeah, this feels really good," Jaime admitted, curling up as close as she could get to him. "A kiss would feel even better..."

Steve encircled her gently in his arms and brushed her lips with his own. "Mmmm..." Jaime whispered, "more, please...medicinal purposes you know."

"Well, how can I say no to that?" He held her closer for a long, soft kiss and felt Jaime's lips hungrily seeking deeper contact.

"I feel better already," she told him, several minutes later. "If this is therapy, sign me up for the extended version."

"Already did." Steve proved it by continuing with his own brand of therapy until the breeze grew a little cooler and he and Jaime made their way back into the hospital for dinner.

A surprise awaited them in Jaime's room. They found a small table, set for two and complete with a white linen tablecloth and candles in the center. Off to one side, a bottle of wine sat chilling in an ice bucket. Jaime hugged Steve with exuberance. "Did you know about this?" she asked happily.

Steve smiled. "Someone had to make sure you were out of the room long enough for the elves to set it up."

"Wine, too!"

"Since you've been refusing your pain meds, you can actually have some." He kissed her again – he couldn't help it; she was glowing – and gallantly pulled out her chair. "Although I don't advocate saying no to your doctors' prescriptions..."

"This time, being bad turned out kinda good," Jaime concluded.

"I wouldn't put it quite like that," Steve said, sitting down across from her and finding himself unable to look anywhere but into Jaime's eyes. They were both completely entranced with each other when Michael came in, a white cloth over one arm and carrying two well-chilled wine glasses. He lit the candles, poured the wine, bowed and then left.

Jaime giggled. "Should I even ask who's bringing our dinner?"

With a white shirt, a buttoned-up white lab coat and a sharp black bow tie, Rudy looked every bit the part. The first dome-covered tray held two salad bowls, with he set down with a flourish in front of Jaime and then Steve. He, too, bowed, and placed a small school bell on the table. "I will be back shortly," he told them, striving for a foreign accent but sounding just like the same dear man he always was, "but if you need anything at all..." Rudy bowed once more and left the room.

Steve raised his wine glass in a toast. "To the bravest, most beautiful woman I know, who is finally learning her most courageous act should be accepting help from others – whether she thinks she needs it or not." Steve softly clinked Jaime's glass, brushing his fingertips across her hand as he looked deeply into her eyes. "I love you."

- - - - - -


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue

Jaime stood at the finish line, grinning at Rudy and not the least bit winded as she waited for Steve to round the last turn of the track. When Steve ground to a halt next to them, he shook his head in disbelief.

"Rudy, I was running full speed! How did she...?"

Jaime looped her arm through Steve's leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I could blame it on 'female superiority'," she said lightly, "but I'm guessing it's these extra components I've been blessed with. _Your _hips are only flesh and blood."

"She's right," Rudy concurred. "I could give you my scientific explanation, but let's just say extra parts equals extra speed."

"How fast was I going, Doc?" Jaime asked.

"I'm guessing about 75," Steve asserted.

"Eighty," Rudy told them. "I'd say the operation was a success, Young Lady. You two can hang out if you'd like; I've got reports to fill out...and a discharge form."

Jaime bounced with excitement. "I'm going home?"

"Tomorrow morning," Rudy answered, smiling. "I'll see you both inside."

Steve wrapped both of his arms around Jaime's waist and leaned back to take a good, long look at her. "You can outrun me now; there goes all my fun – and yours," he joked.

Jaime pulled herself closer and tilted her head up to kiss him. "I wouldn't say that," she told him, her arms around Steve's neck and her lips moving in for just one more taste. "Because I promise – no matter what – that I will _**always**_ let you catch me."

END


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